Town Passes OHV Ordinance for Hours of Operation, Spark Arrestors, Fines
Town of Lake City Board of Trustees and Mayor Dave Roberts met with Sheriff Denim Starnes and Deputy Jim Hunsicker during the March 19 regular workshop and meeting to discuss Town OHV regulations and the OHV year-end report. The annual report is generated through input collected from Hinsdale County Finance Director Lynn McNitt, Mayor Roberts, Sheriff Starnes, Captain James Saunders with Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Traffic and Safety Program Manager Zane Znamenacek and CDOT Regional Operator RE Hall.The report, which is required by CDOT’s Special Use Permit, is submitted at the end of each season to communicate concerns or issues that occurred.The report states: Following the end of the 2024 summer season, concerns were communicated to the County and Town that the new start date had adversely affected local business. The County Commissioners and Town Trustees discussed changing the start date for 2025, which would require a new request for an updated Special Use Permit from CDOT. Eventually it was determined to wait until the end of the current 2024-2025 permit. Both the Town and County boards will meet to discuss the possibility of requesting a new permit to continue the OHV Highway program in 2026 and beyond.Other than a few exceptions, each contributing participant named above had relatively the same sentiments to relate, summed up by Saunders as, “Everything else was usual. Nothing to report. That’s good news.”Sheriff Starnes stated that along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Lucas Martin, reporting approximately 150 total contacts were made with OHV drivers on Highway 149. Of those 150 contacts, approximately seven percent resulted in citations.At the March 19 meeting, Mayor Roberts reiterated that in the end of year report, he had “nothing new to add following the 2024 season.” His biggest complaint, within the report, he said, was that the program timeline was shortened and that “a lot of businesses didn’t like that. A lot of people in town would like to see the program go back to the original start date (Memorial Day).”Trustee Bruce said, “So we haven’t had any incidents. Again.” Bruce referenced the data that Lucas Martin contributed to the report, saying, “so when he says 150 total contacts, with seven percent being issued citations – I would be curious to know what the contacts were for. Moving violations, equipment issue – or whatever – I think that could help us.”Mayor Roberts said, “as we all know, we have been working with the town in regards to the OHV program, to make it as palatable as we can for the town citizenry. The Commissioners discussed it this morning, we’ve discussed it a couple of times, we were working on that ordinance to see what we can do, and the three major factors that came up: the amount of the fines; the county wants to raise the helmet fine to $300 for 18 and under. Then, mufflers and spark arrestors – so, noise, and hours of operation.”Bruce said, “they (Hinsdale County) were going to follow us on the hours of operation and we were going to follow them on the fines.”Roberts, speaking to Starnes, said, “I requested that the Sheriff be here because he’s part of this and as we do what we do, I’m interested in your feedback.” Starnes replied, “happy to give it. What are the proposed hours of operation?”Roberts replied, “we’ve been discussing 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.”“What if someone comes off the loop at midnight, or if they have a flat tire?” asked Starnes.Trustee Bruce said, “well, you have discretion, and that would be an exception.”Town Manager Lex Mulhall stated that the other timeframe being considered was 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., and Starnes replied that he felt those times would be more reasonable.Trustee Bruce said she had spoken with some homeowners who lived along the highway, who were not necessarily in favor of OHVs, proposing a 6 a.m. start time until a 10 p.m. end time, and she reported that this idea was favorable, as it gives the noise an eight-hour break. Mayor Roberts agreed, saying, “[we know] not everyone is going to comply. What we’re doing is asking the citizens what they prefer, then we can publish that for all the visitors and guests, saying this is what the town wants. But also, let me back up a step – the newspaper kind of put me out of context – in one of our meetings, I made a comment and I was talking about the stereos [not mufflers, as reported] and how I heard them coming down Crooke’s Hill, and as I read our existing ordinance, that’s in there already. I don’t see you guys [Sheriff’s Office] chasing down every loud stereo.”Starnes interjected to say, “I’ve chased down a few.”Further, Starnes said he would like to share an example from last summer,..(continued) Missing the Whole Story? Click the button below to subscribe! You can receive the weekly publication of The Lake City Silver World to your inbox or front door!
